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Further readings for the Panasonic Lumix DMC G3

To provide photographers with a broader perspective about mobiles, lenses and cameras, here are links to articles, reviews, and analyses of photographic equipment produced by DxOMark, renown websites, magazines or blogs.

Introduced in mid September, the Olympus PEN E-PM2 is the second generation of Olympus’ entry-level Micro Four Thirds hybrid camera. It sports a newly updated design with a useful, fixed grip and a touch-screen interface among other updates, but the big news is that it has inherited the sensor of the much-admired Olympus OM-D E-M5, the current top-of-the-line Micro Four Thirds camera.

Panasonic is adding its ninth model to its growing Lumix G-series lineup. In July, the Japanese electronics giant announced the Lumix DMC G5 would replace the Lumix DMC G3. Like its predecessor, the G5 taps the increasingly popular mirrorless Micro Four Thirds technology that Panasonic co-developed back in 2008 with its cross-town Tokyo rival Olympus.

Olympus caused a sensation when it revived the legendary OM line that had enjoyed its heyday in the silver halide era. The Olympus OM-D E-M5 successfully revisits the OM design in terms of its ergonomics and workmanship. Olympus has quite precisely taken advantage of this new family in its line of compact hybrid micro 4:3 cameras to introduce a new 16 Mpix Live MOS sensor. What is this new sensor all about? Does it represent an improvement over current Pen sensors? Does it help the micro 4:3 category to catch up with the APS-C hybrids (with the Sony NEX in the lead)? Our sensor review provides the answers.

Designed with compactness in mind, micro 4/3 lenses go for the smallest size possible most of the time. But to achieve these dimensions, they sometimes have to compromise on image quality. In this review, we cover a wide range of standard lenses, both prime and zoom, and show that not all lenses are equal in terms of the trade-off between compactness and image quality.

It’s rare in the world of photography for a manufacturer to come up with an entirely new product line from scratch, and it’s equally rare for a famous manufacturer such as Nikon (the world market leader) to offer a new lens mount (Nikon CX). This makes the launch of the Nikon 1 line (Nikon J1 and Nikon V1) a major event in photography this fall.

Announced 2 weeks ago, the successor to the Panasonic G2 has already been tested and briefly reviewed on DxOMark. The Panasonic G3 is more than a simple revamp of its predecessor; this new model represents a leap forward for the G Series with:

A new 16 Mpix sensor

A new autofocus system

A touch screen and an electronic view finder

A very attractive price tag when compared with the launch price of the G2

When speaking about the G3’s sensor in their press release, Panasonic proclaimed it was much better than its predecessor at high ISO settings. With that said, let’s check out the DxOMark results.

Further readings for the Canon PowerShot S95

To provide photographers with a broader perspective about mobiles, lenses and cameras, here are links to articles, reviews, and analyses of photographic equipment produced by DxOMark, renown websites, magazines or blogs.

Looking at the specifications for Canon’s new PowerShot SX50 HS may leave you thinking that you have opened the pages of some futuristic fantasy: a compact camera with a zoom lens that covers a range equivalent to 24mm up to 1200mm with a digital zoom doubling this figure! Well specifications don’t take pictures; photographers do, if they have the right camera. Is this the right camera?

With an overall DxOMark score of 47, the Pentax Q is well-placed among cameras with sensors smaller than 4/3. In fact, its results are equivalent to the best compacts in this line (e.g., Canon Powershot G12 and Powershot S95) — not bad at all for a sensor that is smaller than most compact sensors (4.6 x 6.2 mm for the Pentax Q vs 5.8 x 7.9 for the Olympus XZ1).

Further readings for the Canon Powershot G12

To provide photographers with a broader perspective about mobiles, lenses and cameras, here are links to articles, reviews, and analyses of photographic equipment produced by DxOMark, renown websites, magazines or blogs.

Canon’s PowerShot G15 is the latest iteration of the popular G-series compacts aimed at enthusiasts. It packs a number of refinements over its predecessor, not the least being a new f/1.8-2.8 high-speed zoom, larger, high-resolution screen and a smaller, more compact body. It also marks the move from CCD to a Canon made CMOS with a fourfold increase in maximum sensitivity and full HD (1080p) video capture. Will the new Canon show any advance in image quality over the earlier G12? Read on to find out.

Canon updates the high-end two-year-old PowerShot G12 with the PowerShot G15. The latest addition to the PowerShot G-series slims down in size, but increases in performance: including faster and brighter optics and higher Full HD video resolution. Check out the highlights of the PowerShot G15 in DxOMark’s preview.

With an overall DxOMark score of 47, the Pentax Q is well-placed among cameras with sensors smaller than 4/3. In fact, its results are equivalent to the best compacts in this line (e.g., Canon Powershot G12 and Powershot S95) — not bad at all for a sensor that is smaller than most compact sensors (4.6 x 6.2 mm for the Pentax Q vs 5.8 x 7.9 for the Olympus XZ1).

The Nikon Coolpix P7000 was launched last year to clearly compete with the Canon Powershot G12 on the high-end compact market. Despite reasonably good specs, the P7000 wasn’t really well received because of some usability and responsiveness issues. So, we were quite interested to see what this new Nikon Coolpix P7100 would offer.

It’s rare in the world of photography for a manufacturer to come up with an entirely new product line from scratch, and it’s equally rare for a famous manufacturer such as Nikon (the world market leader) to offer a new lens mount (Nikon CX). This makes the launch of the Nikon 1 line (Nikon J1 and Nikon V1) a major event in photography this fall.

High-end bridge sensors: Questions of size and performance

“Travel light.” This was the motto of pocket-sized cameras whose layout and controls were a perfect match to those of much bulkier DSLRs. Moreover, up to a few months ago, buying a DSLR was quite expensive. All this justifies the existence of a market for compact-sized cameras, based on compact sensors, but using reflex-style commands and interfaces.